The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp
Even though he's from a wealthy family teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock of Baywatch and General Hospital) just can't seem to fit in among the mysterious upper class of Beverly Hills. But when he learns that his parents and sister may be involved in secret sexual depravity Bill begins to suspect that rich people are indeed very different from the rest of us. Can Bill escape his initiation into a nightmare world of privileged perversion or will he be forced to make the ultimate contribution to Society? Directed by Brian Yuzna (Bride of Re-Animator and The Dentist) and featuring ultra-disturbing makeup effects by Screaming Mad George (Freaked).
Including A Woman Mother Father and Daughter go to the park. The women dose off on a bench while the father plays a hide-and-seek game with a girl blindfolded. Charlie leads him into a lake. Both dozing ladies on the bench fall for Charlie and invite him for dinner. The father returns home with a friend. Charlie rushes upstairs and dresses like a woman shaving his moustache. Both men fall for Charlie. His Regeneration A rough criminal gets into an argument over a girl in a dance hall. The argument turns into a fight and the criminal is shot. As everyone else looks on a young woman comes to his aid and it turns out that he is not seriously wounded. He still remembers the woman who helped him when later he is committing a burglary and gets a surprise that will change his life The Bank Charlie does everything but an efficient job as janitor. Edna buys her fianc'' the cashier a birthday present. Charlie thinks To Charles with Love is for him. He presents her a rose which she throws in the garbage. Depressed Charlie dreams of a bank robbery and his heroic role in saving he manager and Edna ... but it is only a dream. Shanghaied A shipowner intends to scuttle his ship on its last voyage to get the insurance money. Charlie a tramp in love with the owner's daughter is grabbed by the captain and promises to help him shanghai some seamen. The daughter stows away to follow Charlie. Charlie assists in the galley and attempts to serve food during a gale.
Two features!: Terror: A director celebrates the launch of his new horror movie. However the guests from the party meet a strange fate within the following days. Phobic: After witnessing the murder of his sister Joey shuts himself away - but the killer is anxious to find him.
Going Overboard: Get ready for big laughs on the high seas as Adam Sandler plays Shecky Moskowitz a cruise ship waiter who has his eyes on becoming the ship's comedian. Shecky notices that the ship's comedian Dickie Diamond always gets the stunningly gorgeous beauty queens on board by being the funny man. Dickie doesn't want any competition and refuses to give Shecky a chance to perform on the ship as his warm up act. As fate would have it Dickie hat is blown overboard and he gets locked in the bathroom. With the comedian presumed lost at sea and the ship in need of a comedy act Shecky is given his big break at stand up. The big question is will he sink or swim? Shecky's antics rock the boat in this hilarious sea adventure that's jam packed with hysterical comic sketches and sexy fantasy sequences. Combat Academy: A wise-cracking hipster and a nerd are sent to a military academy to be straightened out. But the two manage to turn the academy inside out with their comic capers and war games.
Get ready for big laughs on the high seas as Adam Sandler plays Shecky Moskowitz a cruise ship waiter who has his eyes on becoming the ship's comedian. Shecky notices that the ship's comedian Dickie Diamond always gets the stunningly gorgeous beauty queens on board by being the funny man. Dickie doesn't want any competition and refuses to give Shecky a chance to perform on the ship as his warm up act. As fate would have it Dickie hat is blown overboard and he gets locked in the bathroom. With the comedian presumed lost at sea and the ship in need of a comedy act Shecky is given his big break at stand up. The big question is will he sink or swim? Shecky's antics rock the boat in this hilarious sea adventure that's jam packed with hysterical comic sketches and sexy fantasy sequences.
Science Fiction Box Set. Includes:ALIEN INTRUDER:Four convicts get a chance of freedom by volunteering for a space mission but there's an alien on board with a mission of its own...ARMAGEDDON:In a future world John Wade is executed in cold blood. The authorities bring him back to life via bio-technology. When he escapes it is to wreak revenge on his killers.CYBORG 3:Enter the dark world of synthetic humanoids where ruthless recyclers scavenge cyborg parts and sell them to the highest bidder.THE SILENCERS:People who sight UFO's are being silenced by a sinister race of extra-terrestrials who plan to take over the earth.
Ladder 49: (Dir. Jay Russell) (2004): What does it take for a man to run into a burning building when everyone else is running out? Why do firemen leave their families each morning to risk their lives for strangers? The film chronicles Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) as he makes the transition from inexperienced rookie to seasoned veteran. As he struggles to cope with a risky demanding job that often shortchanges his wife and kids he relies on the support of his mentor and chief Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) and his second family - the brotherly bond between the men of the firehouse. But when Jack becomes trapped in the worst blaze of his career his life and the things he holds important - family dignity courage - come into focus. As his fellow firemen of Ladder 49 do all they can to rescue him Jack's life hangs in the balance. Guardian: (Dir. Andrew Davis) (2006): In an effort to find his place in life a troubled young man enlists in the Coast Guard where he's taken in by a renowned rescue swimmer who's hardened by the loss of his team from an accident years back. Unfortunately for the pair the past is about to re-incarnate itself...
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